


Together

by james



Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Established Relationship, Humor, M/M, Slice of Life, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2019-02-13 06:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12977820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/james/pseuds/james
Summary: Ivan reflects on his relationship with Byerly.





	Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FairestCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairestCat/gifts).



Ivan liked to pride himself (quietly, he preferred no one else realised) on his observational skills. His mother taught him well how to read people, their motivations, predict their behavior and better still how to manipulate it so subtly they never knew you're doing it. He wasn't quite as good as she was on that last one, mostly because he didn't bother to practise. There was no real need, since there was very little he wanted out of life except to live it quietly and out of the political limelight that followed his relatives everywhere.

So he would have thought he'd have noticed when By moved in. He should have -- certainly the second set of toiletries in the bathroom were a clue, but for some reason he'd explained them away to himself because _By certainly spends a lot of time here._

How that wasn't a clue, Ivan didn't know and he certainly wasn't going to ask anyone else.

He hadn't even told anyone he and By were sleeping together, because first of all if they couldn't figure it out themselves they didn't deserve to know (which meant his entire extended set of relatives probably knew after the first time. Certainly his mother did judging by the way she'd invited them both to lunch a week later.) 

But also because it was just a sort of casual, comfortable sex thing. It wasn't romance: they didn't go out to dinner or show up on the doorstep with flowers and pastries. By was often coming home ( _home_ ) with wine or juicy gossip, but that was hardly romantic, despite how much they both rather enjoyed it. Gossip was also half the time work-related, or family-related which became work-related when Ivan wasn't careful to side-step any involvement.

His relationship with By was something nice and safe and enjoyable. Ivan had discovered he preferred By's companionship outside the bed as well, and of course he'd admit to being friends with the man to anyone who made the accusation.

Almost anyone. He gave Miles as much run-around as he could, if only because watching Miles get confused and frustrated was a rare and joyous pleasure. It was good for him, Ivan told himself, in exactly the same way as raising toddlers was good for him.

But that was Miles, and the rest of the Empire didn't need to know anything about Ivan's sex life that they couldn't figure out for themselves. Which apparently included Ivan, because he knew perfectly well that By was a good friend, enjoyable in bed, and had filled Ivan's kitchen with his own preferred groceries. It only made sense that some of By's clothes had made their way into Ivan's closet, and of course someone as fastidious about his appearance would keep said closet organised, neat and tidy.

Spending the weekend together had been easy, but Ivan honestly had not noticed when 'weekends' had melted into 'weekends and Mondays' into 'weekends and not until Thursday and why even bother going home at all.'

He checked, discreetly as he could, as to when exactly By had let the lease go on his old place.

Ivan suspected By either was waiting for Ivan to ask, and mark the day on the calendar, or he actually thought Ivan had been fully aware all along.

Instead Ivan simply made dinner, and he tried to decide if they were counting from that first time -- Ivan's mother had given her approval, after all, so perhaps they could count from that lunch date? Or if he would just wait and see when By started dropping "reminders" that their anniversary was coming due, and he'd wait until they were old and gray to admit to anything.


End file.
